U.S. patent application number 09/828398 was filed with the patent office on 2002-10-10 for high speed, low-power cmos circuit with constant output swing and variable time delay for a voltage controlled oscillator.
Invention is credited to Fairgrieve, Alexander, Harvey, Barry, Lin, Xijian.
Application Number | 20020145460 09/828398 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25251687 |
Filed Date | 2002-10-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020145460 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lin, Xijian ; et
al. |
October 10, 2002 |
High speed, low-power CMOS circuit with constant output swing and
variable time delay for a voltage controlled oscillator
Abstract
A delay circuit is provided for use in a ring oscillator of a
phase locked loop (PLL). The delay circuit includes a differential
pair of NMOS transistors 102 and 103 with an NMOS transistor 101
providing the tail current for the differential pair. Complementary
NMOS and PMOS load transistors 104,106 and 105,107 provide loads
for the differential transistor 102 and 103. Transistors 111-114
and 121-122 together with an amplifier 130 provide biasing for the
delay device. The amplifier 130 has a non-inverting input set to
V.sub.DD-V.sub.CLAMP. As configured, a constant output voltage
swing from V.sub.DD to V.sub.DD-V.sub.CLAMP is provided at the
outputs V.sub.OUT+ and V.sub.OUT- of the delay device, independent
of a control voltage V.sub.CTL used to set the tail current. The
NMOS load transistor 104, as opposed to the PMOS transistor 4 in
FIG. 1, does not contribute to the gate parasitic capacitance
enabling a high operation speed without consumption of more supply
current. A wide frequency tuning range of a ring oscillator using
the delay circuit of FIG. 2 is provided because the operating
frequency for a ring oscillator will be directly proportional to
the tail current through transistor 101.
Inventors: |
Lin, Xijian; (Fremont,
CA) ; Harvey, Barry; (Los Altos, CA) ;
Fairgrieve, Alexander; (Menlo Park, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FLIESLER DUBB MEYER & LOVEJOY, LLP
FOUR EMBARCADERO CENTER
SUITE 400
SAN FRANCISCO
CA
94111
US
|
Family ID: |
25251687 |
Appl. No.: |
09/828398 |
Filed: |
April 6, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
327/287 ;
327/266 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H03H 11/265
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
327/287 ;
327/266 |
International
Class: |
H03H 011/26 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A delay circuit for an oscillator comprising: a differential
pair of transistors (102,103) connected in a common source
configuration with gates of first and second transistors of the
differential pair forming complementary inputs to the delay
circuit, and drains of the first and second transistors of the
differential pair forming complementary outputs of the delay
circuit; a first load comprising third and fourth transistors
(104,106) having source-drain paths connected in shunt to couple a
first voltage supply (V.sub.DD) to the drain of the first
transistor (102) of the differential pair; a second load comprising
fifth and sixth transistors (105,107) having source-drain paths
connected in shunt to couple the first voltage supply (V.sub.DD) to
the drain of the second transistor (103) of the differential pair;
and a bias circuit comprising: an amplifier (130) having a first
input connected to a voltage reference, a second input and an
output; a third load comprising seventh and eighth transistors
(113,114) having source-drain paths coupled between the first
voltage supply (V.sub.DD) and the second input of the amplifier,
wherein gates of the third, fifth and seventh transistors are
coupled to the output of the amplifier.
2. The delay circuit of claim 1 further comprising: a ninth
transistor (122) having a source coupled to the first voltage
supply (V.sub.DD) and a drain and gate coupled together and to the
gates of the fourth, sixth and eight transistors.
3. The delay circuit of claim 1 further comprising: an ninth
transistor (101) having a drain coupled to the common sources of
the first and second transistors (102,103) of the differential pair
and a source coupled to a second voltage supply (V.sub.SS), and
having a gate coupled to a delay control voltage input (V.sub.CTL);
and a tenth transistor (121) having a drain coupled to the drain of
the ninth transistor (122), a source coupled to the second voltage
supply (V.sub.SS) and a gate coupled to the delay control voltage
input (V.sub.CTL) and the gate of the ninth transistor.
4. The delay control transistor of claim 3 further comprising: an
eleventh transistor (112) having a drain coupled to the second
input of the amplifier, a gate coupled to the first voltage supply
(V.sub.DD), and having a source; and a twelfth transistor (111)
having a drain coupled to the source of the eleventh transistor
(112) a source coupled to the second voltage supply (V.sub.SS), and
a gate coupled to the delay control voltage and the gates of the
ninth and tenth transistors (101,122).
5. A delay circuit for an oscillator comprising: a differential
pair of transistors comprising: a first NMOS transistor (102)
having a gate forming a noninverting input (V.sub.IN+) to the delay
circuit, a drain forming an inverting output (V.sub.OUT-) of the
delay circuit, and having a source; and a second NMOS transistor
(103) having a gate forming an inverting input (V.sub.IN-) of the
delay circuit, a drain forming a noninverting output (V.sub.OUT+)
of the delay circuit, and having a source coupled to the source of
the first transistor of the differential pair; a first load
comprising: a third NMOS transistor (105) having a drain coupled to
a first voltage supply (V.sub.DD), a source coupled to the
noninverting output (V.sub.OUT+), and having a gate; and a first
PMOS transistor (107) having a source coupled to the first voltage
supply (V.sub.DD), a drain coupled to the noninverting output
(V.sub.OUT+), and having a gate; a second load comprising: a fourth
NMOS transistor (104) having a drain coupled to the first voltage
supply (V.sub.DD), a source coupled to the inverting output
(V.sub.OUT-), and having a gate coupled to the gate of the third
NMOS transistor (105); and a second PMOS transistor (106) having a
source coupled to the first voltage supply (V.sub.DD), a drain
coupled to the inverting output (V.sub.OUT-), and having a gate
coupled to the gate of the first PMOS transistor (107); a fifth
NMOS transistor (101) having a drain coupled to the sources of the
first and second transistors, a source connected to a second
voltage supply (V.sub.SS), and having a gate; and a bias circuit
comprising: an amplifier (130) having a noninverting input
connected to a voltage reference, an inverting input and an output;
a third load comprising: an sixth NMOS transistor (113) having a
drain coupled to the first voltage supply (V.sub.DD), a source
coupled to the inverting input of the amplifier (130), and having a
gate coupled to the gate of the third NMOS transistor (105); and a
third PMOS transistor (114) having a source coupled to the first
voltage supply (V.sub.DD), a drain coupled to the inverting input
of the amplifier (130), and having a gate coupled to the gate of
the first PMOS transistor (107); a seventh NMOS transistor (112)
having a drain coupled to the inverting input of the amplifier
(130), a gate coupled to the first voltage supply (V.sub.DD), and
having a source; a eighth NMOS transistor (111) having a drain
coupled to the source of the seventh NMOS transistor (112), a
source coupled to the second voltage supply (V.sub.SS), a gate
coupled to the gate of the fifth NMOS transistor (101); a ninth
NMOS transistor (121) having a source coupled to the second voltage
supply (V.sub.SS), a gate coupled to the gate of the fifth NMOS
transistor (112) and to a delay control voltage input (V.sub.CTL)
of the delay circuit, and having a drain; and a fourth PMOS
transistor (122) having a source coupled to the first voltage
supply (V.sub.DD), and a drain and gate coupled together to the
drain of the ninth NMOS transistor (121) and to the gate of the
first PMOS transistor (107).
6. The delay circuit of claim 5, wherein a width-to-length (W/L)
ratio of each of the first, second, third, and fourth PMOS
transistors (107,106,114,122) are equal, wherein a W/L ratio of
each of the third, fourth, and sixth NMOS transistors (105, 104,
113) are equal, wherein a W/L ratio of each of the first, second,
and seventh NMOS transistors (102, 103, 112) are equal, wherein a
W/L ratio of the fifth NMOS transistor (101) is equal to two times
the W/L ratio of each of the eighth and ninth NMOS transistors
(111,121), and wherein the W/L ratio of each of the third and
fourth NMOS transistors (104,105) is equal to one third of the W/L
of each of the first and second PMOS transistors (107,106).
7. A delay circuit for an oscillator comprising: a differential
pair of NMOS transistors (102,103) connected in a common source
configuration with gates of first and second NMOS transistors of
the differential pair forming complementary inputs to the delay
circuit, and drains of the first and second NMOS transistors of the
differential pair forming complementary outputs of the delay
circuit; a first load comprising a first PMOS transistor (106) and
a third NMOS transistor (104) having source-drain paths connected
in shunt to couple a first voltage supply (V.sub.DD) to the drain
of the first NMOS transistor (102) of the differential pair; a
second load comprising a second PMOS transistor (107) and a fourth
NMOS transistor (105) having source-drain paths connected in shunt
to couple the first voltage supply (V.sub.DD) to the drain of the
second transistor of the differential pair; and a voltage bias
circuit providing bias voltages to the gates of the first PMOS
transistor (106) and the third NMOS transistor (104) of the first
load, and to the second PMOS transistor (107) and fourth NMOS
transistor (105) of the second load.
8. A delay circuit for an oscillator comprising: a differential
pair of transistors (102,103) connected in a common source
configuration with gates of first and second transistors of the
differential pair forming complementary inputs to the delay
circuit, and drains of the first and second transistors of the
differential pair forming complementary outputs from the delay
circuit; a first load comprising third and fourth transistors
(104,106) having source-drain paths connected in shunt to couple a
first voltage supply (V.sub.DD) to the drain of the first
transistor (102) of the differential pair; a second load comprising
fifth and sixth transistors (105,107) having source-drain paths
connected in shunt to couple the first voltage supply (V.sub.DD) to
the drain of the second transistor (103) of the differential pair;
and a voltage bias circuit providing bias voltages to the gates of
the transistors of the first load and the second load so a voltage
swing between the outputs of the delay circuit remain constant when
high and low voltage inputs are applied to the inputs of the delay
circuit.
9. A delay circuit for an oscillator comprising: a differential
pair of transistors (102,103) connected in a common source
configuration with gates of first and second transistors of the
differential pair forming complementary inputs to the delay
circuit, and drains of the first and second transistors of the
differential pair forming complementary outputs from the delay
circuit; a first load comprising third and fourth transistors
(104,106) having source-drain paths connected in shunt to couple a
first voltage supply (V.sub.DD) to the drain of the first
transistor (102) of the differential pair; a second load comprising
fifth and sixth transistors (105,107) having source-drain paths
connected in shunt to couple the first voltage supply (V.sub.DD) to
the drain of the second transistor of the differential pair; a tail
current control transistor (101) having a source-drain path
coupling the sources of the pair of differential transistors to a
second voltage supply (V.sub.SS), and having a gate for applying a
control voltage to control a time delay provided by the delay
circuit; and a voltage bias circuit providing bias voltages to the
gates of the transistors of the first load and the second load so
the time delay is linearly proportional to tail current provided
from the source to drain of the tail current control transistor.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to delay circuits for use in a
ring oscillator of a phase locked loop.
[0003] 2. Background
[0004] Phase-Locked loops (PLL) are used in a number of
applications, including communications, digital circuits and mass
storage electronics. A number of designs for PLLs are known to a
person of ordinary skill in the art. The conventional PLL designs
include a voltage or current controlled oscillator (VCO or ICO), a
critical part in determining the performance of the PLL. Important
parameters of a VCO or ICO for a PLL include: (1) Tuning range, or
the range between the minimum and maximum values of the VCO
frequency with minimal variation of the output amplitude and low
jitter; (2) Supply and substrate noise rejection; and (3) Power
consumption.
[0005] FIG. 1 shows a conventional delay circuit which can be used
in a ring oscillator of a VCO or ICO of a PLL. The delay circuit of
FIG. 1 is disclosed in IEEE JSSC, Vol. 31, No. 11, November 1996,
pp. 1723-1732. Transistors 1-7 form a delay stage and transistors
11 and 12 provide the biasing for the delay circuit.
[0006] The delay stage contains a source-coupled pair of
transistors 2 and 3 with resistive loads 4-7. The loads each
include a diode-connected PMOS device 4 or 5 in shunt with an
equally sized biased PMOS device 6 or 7. Transistors 4-7 are PMOS
devices as illustrated by the circle provided on their gate, while
transistors such as 2 and 3 without such a gate circle are NMOS
devices. The gate circles are used to show which transistors are
PMOS and NMOS devices in FIG. 1, as well as in subsequent
figures.
[0007] For proper bias, the sizes of transistors 11, 12, 6 and 7
are chosen so that when, for example transistor 2 is fully on,
transistor 6 draws 1/2 the current of transistor 1. Likewise, if
transistor 3 is fully on, then transistor 7 draws 1/2 the current
of transistor 1.
[0008] The delay circuit of FIG. 1 has an output voltage swing from
V.sub.DD to V.sub.DD-V.sub.GS. Here, V.sub.GS is a gate-source
voltage equal to V.sub.T+{square root}2*I.sub.d/k, where k is the
device transconductance of one of conducting load transistors 4 or
5. I.sub.D is the drain current of one of transistors 4 or 5, which
is typically half of the tail current through transistor 1, as
controlled by the time delay control voltage V.sub.CTL.
[0009] The delay time of the delay circuit of FIG. 1 can be
approximated as T.sub.D=R.sub.EFF*C.sub.EFF=(1/{square
root}2*k*I.sub.D)*C.sub.EFF. R.sub.EFF is the small signal
resistance at the ends of the voltage swing ranges that is the
inverse of the transconductance for one of the two conducting load
transistors 4 or 5. C.sub.EFF is the total effective capacitance
and includes the drain capacitance of transistors 2 and 6, the gate
and drain capacitance of transistor 4, and the gate capacitance of
the input transistor of a next subsequent delay stage of the ring
oscillator. Limiting the effective capacitance, C.sub.EFF, reduces
power consumption and further can enable increased operation
speed.
[0010] For a ring oscillator with N stages of the circuit shown in
FIG. 1, the operating frequency f1 of the ring oscillator will
be:
f1=1/(2*N*T.sub.D)={square root}2*k*I.sub.D/(2*N*C.sub.EFF)
[0011] Accordingly, the ring oscillator using the circuit shown in
FIG. 1 has the output voltage swing changing with {square
root}I.sub.D and an operating frequency f1 proportional to {square
root}I.sub.D. Variations of the output voltage swing with {square
root}I.sub.D is an undesirable feature because such variation
decreases power supply and substrate noise rejection over the whole
operating frequency range. Further, the tuning range of the
operating frequency f1 is controlled by limitations on the tail
current I.sub.D according to the square root function.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] In accordance with the present invention, an improved delay
circuit for a VCO or ICO with a constant output swing, a wide
tuning range, a high operation speed and low power consumption
relative to the circuit of FIG. 1 is provided.
[0013] In accordance with the present invention, referring to FIG.
2, a delay circuit is provided which may be used in a ring
oscillator of a VCO or ICO. The delay circuit includes a
differential pair of NMOS transistors 102 and 103 with an NMOS
transistor 101 providing the tail current for the differential
pair. Complementary NMOS and PMOS load transistors 104,106 and
105,107 provide loads for the differential transistors 102 and 103.
Transistors 111-114 and 121-122 together with an amplifier 130
provide biasing for the delay adjustment circuitry.
[0014] The amplifier 130 has a non-inverting (+) input set to
V.sub.DD-V.sub.CLAMP, and W/L ratios of the transistors of the
delay circuit are set so that either transistors 101, 102, 104 and
106, or 101, 103, 105 and 107 replicate the biasing transistors
111, 112, 113 and 114 respectively. As configured, a constant
output voltage swing from V.sub.DD to V.sub.DD-V.sub.CLAMP is
provided at the outputs V.sub.OUT+ and V.sub.OUT- of the delay
device. Since V.sub.CLAMP is independent of the control voltage
V.sub.CTL which controls the bias tail current from transistor 101,
the output voltage swing of the time delay circuit will be constant
for different tail currents as controlled by V.sub.CTL. The
constant output voltage swing enables the delay circuit to provide
better noise rejection relative to the circuit of FIG. 1 over
variations of operating current.
[0015] For the circuit of FIG. 2, the NMOS load transistors 104 or
105 contribute less to the effective capacitance C.sub.EFF which
affects the operating frequency of a ring oscillator, whereas the
PMOS transistors 4 or 5 of FIG. 1 do, so the circuit of FIG. 2 can
obtain a higher operation speed without consuming more supply
current. In addition, the frequency tuning range of a ring
oscillator using the circuit of FIG. 2 can be made wider than that
of the circuit of FIG. 1 because the operating frequency for a ring
oscillator using the circuit of FIG. 2 is proportional to the tail
current whereas the operating frequency using the device of FIG. 1
is proportional to the square root of the tail current.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The present invention will be described with respect to
particular embodiments thereof, and references will be made to the
drawings in which:
[0017] FIG. 1 shows a conventional delay circuit for a ring
oscillator; and
[0018] FIG. 2 shows a delay circuit for a ring oscillator in
accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] FIG. 2 shows an improved delay circuit for use in a ring
oscillator of a VCO or an ICO in accordance with the present
invention. The circuit includes an NMOS transistor 101 providing
the tail current for the differential pair of NMOS transistors 102
and 103. An NMOS transistor 104 and a PMOS transistor 106 form a
complementary load for transistor 102 of the differential pair.
Similarly, an NMOS transistor 105 and a PMOS transistor 106 form a
complementary load for the transistor 103 of the differential pair.
Transistors 111-114 and 121-122 together with the amplifier 130
shown in FIG. 2 provide proper biasing for the delay device.
[0020] The gate bias of transistors 106 and 107 follows the same
considerations as the bias of transistors 6 and 7 of FIG. 1. In one
example for biasing, the W/L ratio of transistors 106, 107, 114 and
122 are set equal. Further, the W/L ratio of transistors 104, 105
and 113 are set equal, and the W/L ratio of transistors 102, 103
and 112 are set equal. Further, the W/L ratios of transistor 101 is
set to two times the W/L ratio of transistors 111 and 121. Finally,
the W/L ratios of transistors 104 and 105 are set at 1/3 of the W/L
ratio of transistors 106 and 107.
[0021] The circuit of FIG. 2 provides several advantages when used
in a VCO or ICO over the circuit of FIG. 1. The advantages are
described in subsequent paragraphs.
[0022] First, the delay circuit of FIG. 2 has a constant output
voltage swing from V.sub.DD to V.sub.DD-V.sub.CLAMP. When V.sub.IN+
is high and V.sub.IN- is low, for example, V.sub.OUT- will be
clamped to be V.sub.DD-V.sub.CLAMP because transistors 101, 102,
104 and 106 replicate the biasing of transistors 111, 112, 113 and
114, respectively. At the same time, V.sub.OUT+ will be V.sub.DD
because transistor 107 will charge the output node until transistor
107 becomes cutoff. For the same reason, if V.sub.IN+ is low and
V.sub.IN- is high, V.sub.OUT- will be at V.sub.DD and V.sub.OUT+
will be at V.sub.DD-V.sub.CLAMP. Since V.sub.CLAMP is independent
of the control voltage V.sub.CTL which controls the bias tail
current from transistor 101, the output voltage swing of the time
delay circuit of FIG. 2 is constant for the different tail currents
as controlled by V.sub.CTL. Compared with the circuit in FIG. 1,
the circuit having the constant output voltage swing in FIG. 2
enables a differential-to-single-ended converter to be designed
more easily and can be used to make an oscillator with a better
power supply and substrate noise rejection over a complete tuning
range.
[0023] Further, the time delay of the circuit of FIG. 2 is
approximately, T.sub.D=R.sub.EFF*C.sub.EFF=C.sub.EFF*V/I, where I
is a half of the tail current of transistor 101 as controlled by
control voltage V.sub.CTL and V is the same as the clamping voltage
V.sub.CLAMP. C.sub.EFF is the total parasitic capacitance at the
drains of transistors 103 and 107, the source capacitance of
transistor 105, and the gate capacitance of an input transistor of
the next stage. For an oscillator with N stages of the circuit of
FIG. 2, the circuit will have an operating frequency f2 expressed
as follows:
f2=1/(2*N*T.sub.D)=I/(2*N*C.sub.EFF*V)
[0024] Since the size of NMOS transistor 104 in FIG. 2 is one third
of that of PMOS transistor 4 in FIG. 1, and NMOS transistor 104
does not contribute to the gate to substrate capacitance C.sub.GB
to C.sub.EFF whereas PMOS transistor 4 does, C.sub.EFF for the
circuit of FIG. 2 is significantly less than C.sub.EFF for the
circuit shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, the circuit of FIG. 2 can
obtain a higher operation speed without consuming more supply
current. In addition, the frequency tuning range of the circuit of
FIG. 2 should be wider than that of the previous circuit because
the operating frequency of a ring oscillator using the circuit of
FIG. 2 is proportional to the tail current I.sub.D whereas the
operating frequency of a ring oscillator using the circuit of FIG.
1 will be proportional to the square root of the tail current
I.sub.D.
[0025] Although the present invention has been described above with
particularity, this was merely to teach one of ordinary skill in
the art how to make and use the invention. Many other modifications
will fall within the scope of the invention, as that scope is
defined by the claims provided below.
* * * * *